My body played along, and it did really well. "I didn't realise how my body would react to three weeks of racing. I never expected to be so far ahead," said Florian Lipowitz after the final time trial in Madrid. The former biathlete crossed the finish line in a good 14th place, confirming his result as twelfth in the opening time trial in Lisbon, which was about half as long. Although he was unable to take the white jersey of the best young rider from the Dane Mattias Skjelmose, seventh place in the overall classification is worthy of honour, especially as, unlike Skjelmose or the four-month-older Spaniard Carlos Rodriguez, who also rode in white for a long time, he was not the captain of his team, but a helper for the eventual overall winner Primoz Roglic was at the start.
Florian Lipowitz paves the way for Roglic's Vuelta victory
It is also a good sign for the resilience of his organism that the stomach virus that paralysed half the racing team on the penultimate day did not affect him quite so badly. For his captain, the young man from the Swabian town of Laichingen was a true miracle weapon both defensively and offensively.
On the ninth stage, the youngster, just 23 years old during the Vuelta, waited for the Slovenian, who was weakening that day, and pulled him forward again. On the fourth, the eighth and of the 19th stage he prepared his day's victories in exemplary fashion with his speed increases. "He was impressive and was always there when Primoz needed him. But he also found the balance to achieve a top 10 result himself," praised team boss Ralph Denk.
Of course, he would have liked Lipowitz to wear the white jersey. "But who knows what it's good for," he mused. "If he had won the white jersey, the 'Bild-Zeitung' would have run the headline 'Like Jan Ullrich back then'. But we don't want to go overboard with Florian and talk about a new Jan Ullrich," he warned. Denk sees the former biathlete's future in the tours.
Results of the Vuelta a Espana 2024
Stage 21 (ITT): Madrid - Madrid
La Vuelta Ciclista a España 2024: Stage 21 (ITT), Madrid - Madrid
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Groupama - FDJ | 00:26:28 |
| 2 | Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe | +00:00:31 |
| 3 | Soudal Quick-Step | +00:00:42 |
| 4 | UAE Team Emirates | +00:00:43 |
| 5 | Team Jayco AlUla | +00:00:46 |
| 6 | Lidl - Trek | +00:00:52 |
It has to show, whether with the smaller or the larger ones. Lipowitz, who is 1.81 metres tall and weighs 68 kilograms, brings with him a comparatively large amount of weight in the form of muscles in his upper body from his time as a ski hunter. This slows him down in the mountains. Losing weight would increase his climbing abilities even more. But losing weight without losing substance is a great art.
Bora past at the ski boarding school
Denk is particularly pleased that Florian Lipowitz, as a cyclist, is a home-grown member of the racing team. Tirol KTM, where the young Swabian spent his first three years, was a co-operation partner of Bora-Hansgrohe at the time. He had long since paid his respects to Ralph Denk, although he was still a biathlete and student at the famous ski boarding school in Stams, Austria.
"He called me, said he wanted to become a professional cyclist and asked if I could give him a few tips. He wasn't doing well in the biathlon any more. We then made an appointment. He came from the ski boarding school on his bike and already had 100 kilometres on the clock. It was January and quite cold. Nevertheless, he cycled back again and only arrived back at the boarding school late at night after a total of 200 kilometres." That really impressed his future employer. "That's exactly the kind of guy we need," says Denk. With this combination of endurance talent and courage, Florian Lipowitz can still go a long way.
